Mogwai

The Scottish band Mogwai that deserved a right to be considered one of the most successful post-rock groups was formed in 1995 in Glasgow. The band’s name was taken from the famous comedy horror film Gremlins (1984). “Mogwai” means “evil spirit” in Chinese, but the musicians stated that the group’s name had never played a great role for them. Moreover, they even planned to change it, but actually they never did. Mogwai became famous due to their excellent instrumental compositions: melodic bass parts, bright contrasts and broad use of various effects are integral parts of the band’s music.

Mogwai’s debut studio attempt titled Mogwai Young Team was released in 1997 and it got excellent reviews from experts. Inspired by the art of such band as My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth and Slint, Mogwai managed to create their own interesting sound, which became the group’s signature feature. Famous publication Pitchfork Media added Mogwai Young Team to the list of Top 100 Albums of the 1990s and that definitely proves Mogwai’s incredible playing skills. Two years later Mogwai’s discography was enlarged by the record Come On Die Young (1999). Its sound differs greatly from its predecessor and from the following works.

All Mogwai’s studio attempts impress by traditionally high quality of presented material, while every single record is interesting in its own way. Thus, Rock Action (2001) became the first long play where the musicians used synthesizers that enriched the sound. Even the bigger move to the sphere of electronic sound was demonstrated on the album Happy Songs For Happy People (2003). The rockers needed three years to prepare and record their fifth studio work Mr Beast (2006). Numerous critics agreed that Mr Beast turned out to be one of the strongest Mogwai’s creations.

In 2008 listeners enjoyed the album of instrumentals The Hawk Is Howling that was well received by the experts. Besides the studio albums, Mogwai did not forget to pay attention to concert acts. Thus, in 2010 they made a present to all the lovers of live sound by releasing a very interesting live album Special Moves that had been recorded in New York. In 2011, the musicians released their seventh long play Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will. The quality of the presented material is unquestionable, because Mogwai established a reputation of extremely talented musicians.